Second Dawn: Kathleen Penland

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This is a reference document for the LARP The Second Dawn.

Kathleen Penland Player: Katie G Immortal matchmaker and restaurateur Age: 358/30ish

Additional information (read first): Ageless, Cataclysm, Sickness, El Dorado (which contains information you know to be inaccurate, see below)

Background: You were born in 2068, thirty years before the Cataclysm, in the dying days of the old world. Your youth was an ordinary tale of slightly over-privileged suburban unhappiness, the daughter of two physicians in Cranston. Your family was wealthy enough to live in a guarded community, protected from the gangs of poor and immigrants and revolutionaries that preyed upon the countryside beyond the big cities. You got into Brown University, where you graduated with a double concentration in English and Molecular Biology. You moved on to a job with a biotech consulting firm in Foxboro, but young-adult angst followed you. You simply never found anything that drove you, that motivated you, that you really loved; you weren’t terribly unhappy, but you weren’t actively happy either. The Cataclysm didn’t help improve that perspective, of course. You were down in a company’s cold storage vault looking over some microorganisms when the war began, providing you with an impromptu shelter. Over the next few decades, as your aging stopped and you found ways to scrounge and survive in the post-civilized devastation, you made your way back to what remained of Providence. The dark ages gave you little chance to reflect on your life, to worry about being happy; nobody was happy, in those days. Or so you first thought, at least. Friends and lovers came and went, jobs and little town governments, as a new city was built higher up over the half-drowned old Providence. After a few generations, you realized that you had, in fact, been happy for a while now. You realized after a few decades that it had been the simplest of things, the stupid obvious answer: love. But not the wild “true love” of bygone Hollywood; any love, all love. You’d had numerous lovers, men and women, each lasting for weeks or months or years, your ageless nature forcing you to say farewell to each one eventually. Every time it worked, it was as sweet as the first; every kiss a first kiss, every parting that same bitter sorrow. Two hundred years old, and love –love in general, not any one specific person– was the only thing that had made you happy, made you feel fully alive and involved in the world. You finally understood not only yourself, but people. You saw so many lives, so much in common to all of them; the only thing that set you apart was your lifespan, your ability to take the long perspective. It didn’t set you apart from everyone, mind you; around the start of the Union, you began to meet other “Ageless”, the half-dozen in the area who kept showing up decade after decade, looking the same, just like you did. It was so nice, having others around who had a perspective like yours- yet so few of them seemed to have found wisdom and happiness as you had. Most of them seemed tied up in their old lives and ways, or too focused on the complex games they’d invented to fill the years. Still, the comfort and familiarity of their friendship is a far deeper thing than any mortal can provide. As New Providence grew into a major city, you built a lasting life for yourself. Love for yourself you could find in every generation, but you wanted a venue from which you could help show others recognize its pure simple importance. You started a restaurant and bar, and over a few generations turned it into New Providence’s greatest social hotspot. You’re no chef yourself, but neither are you just a bookkeeper; you tend to spend your time as a bartender, though few people know you’re also the owner. That’s the way your life has gone, for a hundred years and more; you work with people at all levels of New Providence society in your roles as bartender and owner; your business, now called the Green Fox (named on a whim after your old job in Foxboro), has multiple locations these days, allowing you to participate in high-priced fundraisers and working-class bars. You watch crowds, you talk to people, you encourage people to find love, find each other. It fills the time pretty well, though this whole spaceship business has put you on something of a nostalgic kick. One of your Ageless friends, Donald Baxter, runs a brisk trade in illegal “Ancient” technology, and he’d mentioned that his suppliers should be at the party tonight; you need to . How nice it would be, to spend a few hours relaxing in the sights and feels of the old world! You’ll probably get tired of it in a few years, but that’s not the point now; surely Don can find some other Ageless who wants to buy it after that. Of course, Don Baxter is tied to a lot of your problems tonight, though it mostly isn’t his fault. You and he were lovers a few decades ago, but when he told you about his lingering feelings for his long-dead ex-wife, you had to bring it to an end: because you knew his wife was alive. You met Charlotte Rutledge just before the Cataclysm; she was a friend of a friend then, who had just had a falling-out with her husband. She’d told her husband that she was going to stay with family in Texas for a while, but she’d lied and instead gone to stay with a friend, one of your co-workers. You and she became friends, and you found her again a decade after the Cataclysm. She too had failed to age, and she told you of her plans to actually travel down to Texas, to find her family after all. You helped organize her trip, and saw her off. Generations later, when nations started to form, she got back in touch with you, via far-traveling letters. She had begun a utopian enclave called El Dorado, using her engineering knowledge to provide solar cells and basic technologies, and had a nice little place there. You and she communicated over the years, and 80 years ago you made the trip to visit her, and you became lovers while you were there. She mentioned her ex-husband, but didn’t give a name: you didn’t put two and two together until Donald told you her name. Feeling intensely guilty about the whole thing, you had to break it off with Don, even though things were going pretty well between you two. And of course, you had to start trying to get them back together; you’re the one who convinced Charlotte to come out here and view the launch, where she’ll certainly run into Donald. There is another especially worrying turn of events lately. A fellow Ageless, Patricia Kennedy, just recently passed away, It has come as quite a shock to you - you were always friendly to her and she had occasionally confided her problems in you. Tuberculosis could have been easily cured in your time, and it really rankles you that such a thing could be a killer now… Especially since it seems like this strain is capable of infecting Ageless! You’re certain that there is a vault underneath the former Mass General Hospital, which contained serum, and they built those things to last – it’s probably still intact. But it’s deep underground, difficult to get to; you’d need some sort of explorer type to go down there and look for you. You should meet with Franklin Kennedy, Patricia’s new husband (or, rather, widower); he’s the President’s Chief of Staff, and therefore very well-connected. Of course, you can’t tell him everything; you doubt Patricia told him about the Ageless, but at the very least you can share your grief and work together to do what good you can. You’ve been terribly shaken up by the unheard-of death of an Ageless; desperate for answers, you even demanded an autopsy be done on Patricia. It found nothing unexpected, which makes you feel all the worse for not consulting Franklin about it. As if you didn’t have enough on your plate tonight, you also need to keep an eye on Russ O’Malley. You haven’t met him before, but you definitely know the name… after all, you’re his grandmother. Make sure he’s doing well, . But you might not want to let him know why; you’ll have to do a lot of explaining if he realizes that his grandmother looks younger than he does!

Roleplaying notes: Your immortality has given you the perspective of time, and that has given you confidence, serenity, wisdom, and happiness. You know best what people really want, what will make them happy; not because you’re better than them, but because you’re the same as them, because you understand them. You are a charmer by skill rather than by nature.

Goals: 1) Get the Charlotte and Donald back together. 2) Help and encourage people to find love and companionship. 3) Find someone to delve into the Mass General Vault and bring back tuberculosis vaccines. 4) Help, guide and protect Russ O’Malley.

Opinions: Second Dawn: It’s so beautifully ungainly, like a child trying to imitate its mother’s best qualities. It reminds you of the old days. You can’t imagine it’ll get through the Shroud, but regardless you know better than to be too personally invested in something so grand. Black Science: People shouldn’t fear so much. These things do have their risks, but they aren’t intrinsically evil. Tinkers: It’s good that an organization has kept the old knowledge alive; while your information is more immediate than theirs, the Ageless are too few (and too afraid of danger) to have done the job. Yet, they keep so much secret. Religion: You were never interested in your youth, and now that the old faiths are gone, you do regret never having tried to understand them in their original, unchanged forms. Appalachian Confederacy: There are many romantic stories about this rugged, independent foreign land; you’re curious to learn more. El Dorado: It was isolated and small, but the standard of living really was quite high there. Charlotte did a good job, though you wouldn’t want to live there yourself. Space: Bazett/Knapp once told you he knew someone who’d been up there during the Cataclysm. He’s sure they’re still alive up there, though you suspect he may be deluding himself.

Key Information: •Kathleen Penland is, in fact, your real/original name; you only use it once every few generations. •Your business, the Green Fox, is now a hugely successful cluster of restaurants, bars and nightclubs. You are appearing tonight as the relatively-young current generation of the (usually reclusive) family owners. •The construction worker Russ O’Malley is your grandson, though he doesn’t know it. His grandfather, Cormac, was a wonderful man with whom you stayed for decades. He ran a printer’s shop on Water Street. •You and Charlotte have exchanged letters every year or two since the rebirth of nations. In the last few, you’ve been encouraging her to come and see the launch of the Second Dawn and bring her enclave into contact with the Eastern Union. Your ulterior motive is getting her back together with her ex-husband while she’s here. •You are currently between lovers. You haven’t found anyone good since you and Donald split up, but there’s nothing wrong with a few decades’ gap. Better to find someone good than just hook up with someone for entertainment and comfort. •Between your visit and your communications with Charlotte, you know as much or more about El Dorado as its citizens. (The attached info file is information known to its citizens; you have a different perspective, especially about “Rutledge the White”.) •Donald is supposed to be getting in some virtual reality equipment tonight, and you’d love to buy it.

People (in approximate order of importance): Donald Baxter (Jerry S): A good man and Ageless, though he defines himself too much by his work. A businessman, his role as a purveyor of “black science” has made him something of an underworld figure, but he takes care not to harm people. You and he were lovers a few decades back, but you had to end it when you figured out what was going on between him and his ex-wife. He was unhappy at the breakup, but you’ve done your best to be a good friend since. Charlotte Rutledge “the White” (Michelle B): You’ve known her longer than any of the Ageless in this city, though you’ve only seen her in person once for about a decade about 80 years ago, and you became lovers then. She’s looking well, and you do still harbor a few feelings for her (and Donald too), but you definitely can’t get involved with either of those two again now. Franklin Kennedy (Matt W): He married Patricia Kennedy about five years ago; you’ve met him a few times through her, but don’t know him well. You were quite distraught at the funeral last night, you’re not sure what exactly you told him. You can certainly commiserate with him, though, but you hope he doesn’t find out that you got an autopsy done on his wife without his permission or knowledge. Russ O’Malley (Santo S): Your grandson! He probably thinks his grandmother is long dead. You really haven’t kept up with how he’s been doing. You also want to make sure that he’s doing well, maybe even encourage him to start a family so you can be a great-grandparent. William Cone (Richard S): Another local Ageless, he arrived a little after the start of the Union. He started as a rough wanderer, but he became one of the few to find his own true happiness and wisdom. He finds his joy in simple physical labor, keeping himself busy and working in the sun for generation after generation. He’s been working on the Second Dawn’s construction lately. Edward Archibald (?): A local Ageless, he never tired of having a good time. He’s been partying with the best for over a century and you think he’ll likely just continue that way forever if he is able. Niallghas Tinker/Niles Maddox (Aaron B): Ageless, he’s the type to fill the centuries with arcane plots of his own development. Since you came back from El Dorado, he’s been spending most of his time out in Connecticut, but with frequent trips to New Providence. He’s one of Baxter’s biggest buyers, and he has some old grudge with Christopher. Charles Bazett/Christopher Knapp (Paul E): The other Ageless you know who like massive Byzantine plans. While you were gone, he moved to New Hudson to do something or other with the government; it looks like he’s the Minister of the Borders now. He returns Niles’ old grudge. He doesn’t like being called “Chris.” After being away so long, he probably hasn’t heard of Patricia’s death. Rosetta Jones (Suzanne G): A local socialite and friend of Patricia’s, she was at the funeral last night. She’s a mortal, and you’d never met before the funeral, but she too might be curious about the whole affair. Isaiah Whittaker (Joey B): This religious leader is another local socialite, but she wasn’t a friend of Patricia. You haven’t learned much about his religion, but it doesn’t really intrigue you. Eugene Kennedy (Simon M): Franklin’s son from a previous marriage, you think he doesn’t live at home these days? He wasn’t at his stepmother’s funeral. Jules Dyer (Thomas L): You insisted that an autopsy be done on Patricia’s body, but they found nothing unexpected. This Watch agent might have a copy if you need to see the autopsy report yourself.

“Cities may crumble and we may be forced to reside in walled compounds and hire security men to escort us to Wal-Mart and back, but much will remain, such as love, for example, and the quickening one feels in the spring. Flowers will bloom in whatever wreckage we make.” -Garrison Keillor, 4/4/2006

Ratings: Pilot: 0 R: 0 D: 2 G: 3

Nametag Symbols: G, O, R, E

Attributes: Physical: Defense 2 Pool Rating 2 [] [] Mental: Defense 3 Pool Rating 3 [] [] [] Social: Defense 5 Pool Rating 5 [] [] [] [] []

Recoveries: -See or help two people share a romantic moment (+2 points, 1/hour) -Help someone with their personal problems, even if just by lending an ear (+2 points, 2/hour) -Have a private conversation with Russ O’Malley (+3 points, twice ever)

Abilities: Penetrating Insight, survivor (x1), charm, entice, diversion, suspect, who are you?, eyes of joy, confide in me, virtual reality

Items: Piece of Jewelry, pouch of coins

The Eyes of Joy

System: You can identify anyone with the “R” symbol as being, at least to some extent, in search of romance or love. Someone with the “R*” symbol has a related but less traditional problem.

Virtual Reality System: Recognize an item with the “V” quality as virtual reality gear. You’d really like to get your hands on it and spend some time immersed in the comforts of the good old days, enjoying its best parts without any of its downsides.